Reviews: Calvin And Hobbes

The Comic from beyond my time

I was born in 2000, so Calvin and Hobbes had no place in the Sunday comics, nor my generation. However, my parents one day decided to buy us a copy of "The Essential Calvin and Hobbes"
Me and my brother read through everything in the book in less than a week, and proceeded to Quote every last one of it's hilarious jokes. Calvin was my muse to which my child would imagine adventures, with Transmogrifiers and spaceships and alien combat. My parents didn't get why it was so good. They often don't see the quality in what kids enjoy. But parents aside, my love for this comic lasted for years, checking out and reading every last collection book in the library. This series is definitely worth the time and the laughs, but try to read it in order. It may be a comic series, but it's still got amazing continuity! And if that isn't enough, it has the title of trope namer for The Noodle Incident ("NO ONE CAN PROVE I DID THAT!"). And if that's not enough, they even have an entire section for Heartwarming. It's LONG, trust me. Just note that you will definitely be rooting for a jerk and read some words that a 6-year old should not know. Both good and bad words. Amazing. 5/5

Fantastic Toilet Reading

Every time I go to take a crap, I take Calvin and Hobbes with me. I end up with red knees and sore elbows.

Eeeeheheh, okay seriously. Calvin and Hobbes is awesome. I've never wanted to read a newspaper comic series with such gusto that I went out and spent my money on the collection books. It never fails to make you laugh and even makes you think sometimes. The drawing style is instantly unique and recognizable; you'll know you're reading Calvin and Hobbes when you see it.

Calvin and Hobbes

Prominently displayed on my book shelf is a battered copy of a Calvin and Hobbes book. I don't know which one, its cover has long since been torn off. The pages are ratty, dog-eared, and a few are missing entirely. Many of the pages are stained and smeared with grease from long-ago meals. The book, for all intents and purposes, is a piece of garbage. There's no way I could even give it away. It's filthy and worn, yet I still pull it out to read it.

Calvin and Hobbes stands as a testament to my childhood. This particular book has been with me since I was three, as have the antics of Calvin and his tiger, Hobbes. I was much like Calvin. Imaginative, active, and a spitfire, preferring the company of imaginary friends to neighborhood children. Calvin was my friend, a kindred spirit. Hobbes watched over the both of us, providing endearing wisdom and guidance.

In the many years since I first met the boy and his tiger, I have grown. I was always curious about my childhood, what I was like as a small child, how I thought, and the places I went within my own mind. I've come to realize that Calvin and Hobbes is a perfect record of my life. Though I did not do all the things Calvin did, though I was not as intelligent as Calvin, reading that same careworn book brings me back to myself, 3 feet tall and full of opinions. And for that, I will ever be indebted to it. If you haven't all ready, pick up a Calvin and Hobbes anthology from your local library. You'll be glad you did.

The greatest Newspaper Comic I have ever read

I never read this in the papers regrettably. It ended in 1995 and I was born in 93. I regret never being able to read this in its natural place.

BUT, my parents at least read it casually and thought to buy one of the books. It's one of the first things I ever read as a kid, and I loved it.

Calvin - A bratty loudmouth in the most entertaining sense of the word. He's honestly the type of person who you wouldn't like to have as a kid, but Watterson writes him so well and gives him so much depth that I cannot help but admire him. Most of all for his imagination. Calvin doesn't try and limit his imaginative romps or conform them to what his parents or his surroundings want. He creates whole different worlds and persona's that leave me desperately wanting more.

Hobbes - The ever snarky companion whom you can view however you like, either a magical living toy, or merely the greatest product of Calvin's imagination (my personal thoughts tend to think of him as being completely alive.) Hobbes is undeniably one with more common sense, though even he can find himself roped into whatever scheme Calvin has come up with. Hobbes has a quiet dignity to him whenever he plays the role of witness to the insane schemes Calvin comes up with out of the air. However, he became just as much fun as Calvin and even more deadly when he wanted to be. I'm sure none of us will forget how he lay in wait and when Calvin came home from school, would always find some way of surprising Calvin by way of the pounce.

Perhaps the most poignant fact of these two is that, despite their constant quarreling and bickering, they are the best of friends, more like brothers than anything else. They love each other and several strips that dedicate themselves to showing their relationship at its most heartwarming just make you feel all fuzzy and warm inside.

Susie - Playing the part of the outsider who witnesses what looks like a display of utter insanity, and yet somehow finding something to keep her coming back Susie was a great character. She's the perfect foil to Calvin. Even the Early Installment Weirdness that portrayed them as a very heavy-handed love-hate relationship were good.

All in all, this is a quintessential part of my childhood.

Mr Watterson thank you for this masterpiece you gave to us. And now to quote Calvin "Let's Go Exploring!!!"

Epitome of Childhood

For as long as I can remember, one of my favorite things to do was read the Calvin and Hobbes strips. Even though the jokes went over my head more times than I can remember, I was still able to laugh at its humor through the writing and the art, because I believed everything in these strips can and do happen. I believed then Bill Watterson depicted children and childhood to a "T", because I saw myself in Calvin. He and I were brilliant children, I guessed through his huge vocabulary he read a lot like I did (then I later discover he may not have read a lot outside of comic books), we both had a stuffed animal we carried around everywhere, we both had an active imagination, so on and so forth. So due to our similarities, there were moments where I could understand what Calvin was talking about—at least through a child's mindset. My love for this comic strip was so huge at the time, I created my own story arc, much to the amusement of my parents. (Mind you, I was unaware of what fan fiction was at the time.)

Years later, though I have grown up, I can look back at this comic and still laugh, giggle, and understand everything Calvin wanted to make just like I was a six-year-old again. It honestly hasn't changed a bit, but the nostalgia is still powerful, if only because I miss my days of childhood. Bill Watterson may not have ever had children of his own, but he captured childhood very well, even if it turned out to be only through rose-tinted glasses as an adult.

Though my friends have come and gone over the years, Calvin and Hobbes have always been there, even if I never acknowledge them for months on end. They're in a way my best friends, even if we can't interact. I hope to introduce my children to these wonderful friends in the future, so they can go have their own adventures in the magical world of childhood.

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